South Africans have every reason to be angry.

Unemployment remains stubbornly high, public healthcare is under immense pressure, crime is rampant and millions feel abandoned by a government that has failed to deliver on its promises.

Against that backdrop, it is hardly surprising that immigration has become a lightning rod for public frustration. Calls for tighter border controls and better enforcement of immigration laws are legitimate.

But when frustration turns into hostility, intimidation or violence against foreign nationals, we risk blaming the wrong people for problems that are far more complex.

The Nelson Mandela Foundation captured this perfectly: “Xenophobia is an expression of a terrible failure of memory. We are forgetting the long years of struggle against ethnic and related forms of identity mobilisation. We are forgetting the support given by the peoples of the African continent to the struggle against apartheid.”

South Africa’s immigration system is far from perfect and illegal migration undoubtedly places pressure on some communities and public services, particularly in urban centres. But many of the claims driving public anger are exaggerated or overlook important context.

Myth 1: Undocumented foreigners are the main drivers of crime and the drug trade
The evidence suggests there is no proof that foreign nationals contribute disproportionately to crime in South Africa, even though some individuals and organised criminal syndicates do involve foreign nationals. Crime is overwhelmingly driven by South Africans and by broader socioeconomic factors.

Africa Check’s review in 2023 of police and justice data over a five-year period found that undocumented immigrants accounted for just over 2% of all criminal convictions in South Africa on average.

Myth 2: Undocumented foreigners are the primary reason our healthcare system is failing
South Africa’s public healthcare system is under enormous strain. Anyone who has spent time in a state hospital knows that.

Foreign nationals undoubtedly make use of public healthcare services and, in areas with high concentrations of migrants, they can add to existing pressures. But there is little evidence that migration is the primary driver of the crisis.

Research points instead to years of underinvestment, staff shortages, poor management, corruption and growing demand from South Africa’s own population. Blaming migrants risks distracting attention from the systemic failures that affect everyone who relies on public healthcare.

Myth 3: Foreigners are stealing our jobs
The relationship between migration and employment is more complicated than many assume.
According to the latest South Africa Labour Migration Trends Impact Report, foreign-born people accounted for an estimated 2.3 million people, or 5.2% of South Africa’s working-age population, in 2022.

The report found that foreign-born people are more likely to participate in the labour market because they have limited access to social protection and other benefits. However, many work in informal, lower-quality jobs with fewer legal protections than South African workers.

Foreign nationals are more visible in sectors such as informal trading, construction and agriculture, which can create genuine concern in communities where jobs are already scarce. But recognising those local pressures is not the same as concluding that migrants are responsible for South Africa’s unemployment crisis.

The report found no significant evidence that migration increases unemployment among South Africans. Instead, it identified a positive relationship between migration and employment among native-born workers, suggesting migrants may complement, rather than simply replace, local labour.

South Africans deserve secure borders, effective immigration controls and a government that enforces the law fairly. But if we allow frustration to be directed solely at foreign nationals instead of demanding competent governance, we risk attacking the symptoms while leaving the underlying problems untouched.